Various devices for applying medication through the skin are known in the art and are also commercially available. For example, minor muscle pains and arthritic pains can be relieved by applying patches containing topical analgesics (e.g., Tiger Balm patch, Bengay patch, and Icyhot® patch). When the site of pain is at or near a joint, the Icyhot® medicated sleeve manufactured by Chattem Inc. is particularly useful. This product is in the shape of a cylindrical sleeve made of a knitted fabric and has a region in the middle of the sleeve containing a menthol composition. Unlike medicated patches, sleeves provide extra flexibility and comfort when worn around joint areas.
While the Icyhot® medicated sleeve is a good product, it is somewhat complicated to manufacture and cumbersome to use. For example, these sleeves are manufactured and packaged in an inside-out configuration such that when a consumer opens a pouch, the inner surface of the sleeve is facing outward and is visible to the consumer. It appears that this inside-out configuration of the sleeve allows the manufacturer to apply a medicinal composition to the inner surface of the sleeve, which surface is intended to contact the skin. Then, on the pouch, the manufacturer provides illustrated directions for a consumer to initially pull up a sleeve in an inside-out configuration onto a leg or an arm, then roll and flip the sleeve into an outside-out configuration and contact the medicated area at the site of pain. This manufacturing process and directions for use for the Icyhot® medicated sleeve are complicated and cumbersome. Moreover, consumers may not even follow illustrated directions on the pouch and may pull the sleeve up straight in an inside-out configuration, thereby not receiving the full dose of a medication as intended by the manufacturer.
Therefore, there is a clear need in the art to overcome the above noted problems. Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these problems and meet other needs.